_Bhaina._ [263]--A primitive tribe peculiar to the Central Provinces
and found principally in the Bilaspur District and the adjoining area,
that is, in the wild tract of forest country between the Satpura
range and the south of the Chota Nagpur plateau. In 1911 about 17,000
members of the tribe were returned. The tribe is of mixed descent and
appears to have been derived principally from the Baigas and Kawars,
having probably served as a city of refuge to persons expelled from
these and other tribes and the lower castes for irregular sexual
relations. Their connection with the Baigas is shown by the fact that
in Mandla the Baigas have two subdivisions, which are known as Rai
or Raj-Bhaina, and Kath, or catechu-making Bhaina. The name therefore
would appear to have originated with the Baiga tribe. A Bhaina is also
not infrequently found to be employed in the office of village priest
and magician, which goes by the name of Baiga in Bilaspur. And a Bhaina
has the same reputation as a Baiga for sorcery, it being said of him--
Mainhar ki manjh
Bhaina ki pang
or 'The magic of a Bhaina is as deadly as the powdered _mainhar_
fruit,' this fruit having the property of stupefying fish when thrown
into the water, so that they can easily be caught. This reputation
simply arises from the fact that in his capacity of village priest the
Bhaina performs the various magical devices which lay the ghosts of
the dead, protect the village against tigers, ensure the prosperity
of the crops and so on. But it is always the older residents of any
locality who are employed by later comers in this office, because they
are considered to have a more intimate acquaintance with the local
deities. And consequently we are entitled to assume that the Bhainas
are older residents of the country where they are found than their
neighbours, the Gonds and Kawars. There is other evidence to the same
effect; for instance, the oldest forts in Bilaspur are attributed to
the Bhainas, and a chief of this tribe is remembered as having ruled
in Bilaigarh; they are also said to have been dominant in Pendra,
where they are still most numerous, though the estate is now held
by a Kawar; and it is related that the Bhainas were expelled from
Phuljhar in Raipur by the Gonds. Phuljhar is believed to be a Gond
State of long standing, and the Raja of Raigarh and others claim to be
descended from its ruling family. A manuscript history of the Phuljhar
chiefs records that that country was held by a Bhaina king when the
Gonds invaded it, coming from Chanda. The Bhaina with his soldiers
took refuge in a hollow underground chamber with two exits. But the
secret of this was betrayed to the Gonds by an old Gond woman, and
they filled up the openings of the chamber with grass and burnt the
Bhainas to death. On this account the tribe will not enter Phuljhar
territory to this day, and say that it is death to a Bhaina to do
so. The Binjhwars are also said to have been dominant in the hills
to the east of Raipur District, and they too are a civilised branch
of the Baigas. And in all this area the village priest is commonly
known as Baiga, the deduction from which is, as already stated, that
the Baigas were the oldest residents. [264] It seems a legitimate
conclusion, therefore, that prior to the immigration of the Gonds
and Kawars, the ancient Baiga tribe was spread over the whole hill
country east and north of the Mahanadi basin.